Ibex Series: Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout | The Schlafly Tap Room

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Our Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout is brewed with a big malt flavor, plenty of hop bitterness for balance and roasted barley that imparts notes of dark chocolate. As a finishing touch, the beer is transferred to freshly-emptied Kentucky bourbon barrels and aged before being carbonated and bottled. The barrel aging gives the beer a spicy, vanilla character and a pleasant, warming finish.

In the 18th Century, Imperial Stout was first brewed in London for export to the court of Catherine II of Russia. The beer had to be robust enough to maintain during transport.

This beer will continue to age well in a cool dark place for several years, but it is ready to enjoy now.

The palate is full-bodied with an added syrupy texture from the bourbon- minimum carbonation and enough hops to balance but remain silent. The sweetness nullifies the alcohol and then some, providing length to the milk chocolaty finish which turns toward dark caramel towards the end.

In it's extreme youth, this is a bit awkward of a beer, but it shows immeasurable potential to benefit from age. It's a touch sweet and sopping with oaky bourbon- as evidenced by that huge coconut aroma- but the combination of the sweet and smoky meat flavors should be brilliant and mellow in 5-6 years. Overall, not a bad brew at all. Glad I got just a taste this time, and next time I'll cellar one for some years.

2013 Vintage. Pours a clear, light colored ruddy brown. Appears black in the glass with chestnut highlights along the edges and a light tan, tightly packed head which leaves lots of lacing. Looks like an imperial stout but it sure doesn't drink like one. On the nose, I'm getting burnt caramel, rum soaked raisins, a touch of vanilla, some oak, butterscotch. Nice carbonation helps to coat the mouth, lots of caramel and dark fruit in the taste, as well as whiskey, vanilla, toffee, and oak. There's no notes of chocolate, no coffee, no dark roasted malts; nothing to indicate that you're drinking a stout. Feels like I got a 750ml bottle of Backwoods Bastard in front of me. A great beer but I just wouldn't classify this one as an Imperial Stout.

Translucent brown-black pour netted an opaque black beer in an over-size snifter. A thin layer of dark foam on top slimmed to a collar and left nary a trace down the glass. Aromas of boozy chocolate were dominant, with undercurrents of vanilla and molasses. The flavors were similar: chocolate, vanilla, booze, and some light molasses-like sweetness. Feel was on the thin side for a stout, but not in a way that distracted from my appreciation of the beer. Smooth, but slick, too, and with airy wood and booze vapors. No complaints. 12/8/16 bottling.

Long story short world class chocolate bourbon stout buy it.....I've had several bottles and this has really grown on me. It's bourbon and chocolate in stout form. The nose is bourbon with nice barrel traces. The look is deep brown with a small cream head that keeps itself ringed around the glass no lacing apparent.The taste is bourbon wetness with a dominate chocolate follow up as it warms bourbon is intensified and chocolate takes a back seat but still present. It's a tad thin but with the flavors available and the price you won't mind one bit.

Medium brown and clear. A small bit of head that settles to a partial ring. Minor minor lacing.

Nose is boozy and a bit sweet, roasted malt, and dark fruit.

Taste is similar - boozy bourbon, sweet, vanilla, spice, oak, and maybe a bit of hops.

Mouthful is on the lighter side of medium, a bit syrupy. Carbonation is average. Finish is a bit warming and semi sweet.

A barrel aged imperial stouts that reps more like an English barleywine. Pretty impressed here. Ibex Cellar is making great things (hat nod to the Eleventh Labor). The booze is present but not overwhelming. Similarly the bourbon barrel brings the sweetness and oak. Very very drinkable.

750mL bottle, 2009, 10.5%
A - frothy tan head atop a near-black colored ale
S - oak, vanilla, bourbon, chocolate, coffee, caramel, roasted barley
T - boozy, sweet, and rich; oaky bourbon, dark chocolate, caramel, coffee, vanilla, roasted barley, tobacco leaf
M - full body, creamy and smooth, nice carbonation
O - with the potential issues we could have come across with this beer being 6 years old, it really came through - and in a big way! I wasn't even sure if it was going to be reviewable, but it was a go once I realized there were no off flavors and it seemed to have been very well preserved over the years. I'd like to get my hands on a fresher one for comparison purposes. This was great!

Reviewed from notes on 9-18-10. Thanks for enjoying it with my, TCGoalie.

A: Pours not quite pitch black - there is a bit of a dark brown tinge to it. A medium well pour results in a tiny head that recedes oh so fast. The film that is left on top of the beer is mocha colored. The carbonation bubbles mosey at a snail's pace.

S: There are big flavors of mocha, chocolate, caramel, vanilla, backed by a strong oak and bourbon aroma, especially when swirled vigorously in my oversized wine glass. A roasted malt aroma is also present, but way in the background of the other smells.

T: This is on the sweet side for an Imperial Stout, headlined by the large dark chocolate and vanilla presence. The bourbon-oak flavor plays in my mouth for the length of the sip on the back of my tongue and the sides of my mouth. The finish is nicely dry and clean from the oak taste and maybe a little hop presence.

M: The brew leaves a solid medium feel on my mouth, maybe not quite as big as I would like and Imperial Stout to be. It certainly isn't a thin feel, but it is not coating and explosive, either. The finish is dry and puckering.

D: Very drinkable for the style. I found the taste quite pleasing and while this brew is not elite, it is very good.

Aged in freshly emptied Jim Beam barrels. Slow churning brown bubbles form a thick, tall-seated crown of a head; lacing is creamy with a healthy stickage on the glass. The color is a shade or two from pitch black. Wow, killer aromas of fusel alcohol both from the beer and the barrel, more aromatic than harsh. A bit of charred malt and dark berry fruitiness in the nose as well. Smooth and slick on the palate, dry puckering and slightly bitty wood mouthfeel middle to end. Vanilla bean and faint booze with a hard-lined wood character to start. Sweetness peaks in the middle with that vanilla flavor and some deep caramel and burnt sugar complexities. Ghost fusel alcohol is clean but warming, a little hot perhaps. Hops are minimal and not part of the picture here. Wood flavors and dryness engulf the finish.

The dryness actually makes it more drinkable seeing as we wanted to take another sip sooner rather than later. The alcohol is there but never reaches too high. We are sure age will do this beer good, but drinking it now was a treat for sure.

This one is at the top of my list. It's a fine celebration brew but not for a night out. It's heavy. You need to be prepared to sit and really focus on it after dinner. Heavy malt notes. Excellent aroma and oaky undertones. You can drink it alone but you better not be needing to drive. A Thick creamy head with a nice finish.

A few months on this 2007 bomber now. Impressive packaging and box. Pours a deep brown body, almost opaque. Small beige head falls into some attractive patchy lace. Nice aroma features vanilla, bourbon, and some roasty notes of char and chocolate. A bit thin in the mouth for an impy stout. Medium carbonation levels. Taste is much like the aroma. Vanilla dominates. Subtle milk chocolate notes lend a prevailing sweetness, mingling well with the bourbon essence. Mild notes of bitter dark roast throughout. In the now vast pantheon of bourbon barrel imperial stouts there is nothing about this that stands out. A minor disappointment here from a brewery that has wowed me for the most part over the past two years.

Pours dark brown with a beige head. Aroma is alcohol and chocolate with some oak and a little bit of smoke. The flavor is heavy on the chocolate and vanilla. You get some alcohol warming and the mouthfeel is very creamy, even though it is a little thinner than expected. For some reason when I drank this beer it reminded me of Black Xantus, but since I have not tasted them side-by-side I am not sure how accurate that is.

2010 vintage. Dark black in color with next to zero head. Smells of malt and bourbon, maybe a little maple in there. First sip was all bourbon, but as I drank the glass down i was able to get malt and some smoke. The bourbon is almost too overwhelming to catch much else as far as flavors. Mouth feel is bourbon, heavy bourbon. It keeps me waiting to catch more tastes as if finishes, but once again, all I catch is bourbon, and a nice dryness through the finish. Not so much bad, just bourbon overload. I am going to buy another bottle to age for 2 to 5 years hoping that the bourbon mellows some and I will be able to taste more of what the maker intended me to taste.

Very dark brown with very light brown lacing. Nose is awesome, light boozy a bit of diactyl on the nose but it's not overpowering.

Taste is huge on the oak and wood, very sharp. Mouthfeel is very smooth and crisp. The light booze from the bourbon is ok and really just lubricates it down your throat and keeps the drinkability pretty high.